By: Alexander Burns | December 21, 2018

A woman from Chicago has opened up about her decision to destroy her wedding dress after splitting up with her husband. The woman in question, Katlynn McKee, spoke about the experience to the New York Post, telling interviewers how she celebrated her marriage going up in flames by lighting her own wedding dress on fire.

Ms. McKee, 25, now works as a hairdresser and married her unnamed husband in 2013. However, by the summer of 2016, Ms. McKee was feeling lonely and trapped in the relationship. As the summer continued, the pair discussed their flagging love for each other and decided to call it quits.

Even though Ms. McKee has a 6-year-old daughter with her husband, she remains certain that the decision to file for divorce was the right one. “My relationship wasn’t a good one, so it was a relief to finally be free,” said the 25-year-old hairdresser.

After the divorce was finalized earlier this year, Ms. McKee knew that she needed to do something to let off some steam. After doing some research, the young mom decided to take part in a fast-growing movement called ‘trash the dress’. The trend – which involves female divorcees destroying their wedding dress in an effort to move on from their ex-partners – prompted Ms. McKee to dig out her $1500 wedding dress from the back of her cupboard.

After contacting her wedding photographer, Ms. McKee was able to have a series of photographs taken while she destroyed the expensive dress. “We went out to this little area with mud and water, and I had a bottle of wine and a gas canister in a basket. I got into the water in my dress so it was really dirty, then started ripping it up,” said Ms. McKee during an interview with Caters News.

Unsurprisingly, the experience was a great way for Ms. McKee to move forward in her life, telling the New York Post: “I really feel like the physical act of destroying the dress is going to help me going forwards.”

After ripping the ruined dress to shreds, Ms. McKee – who was only wearing her undergarments – posed in front of her former wedding photographer, chugging down wine while the photographer captured a series of intimate and empowering portraits. “It was very liberating, exciting and empowering,” Ms. McKee told Caters News.

In the same interview, Ms. McKee also mentioned that she had contacted her ex-husband to tell him about her plans for the wedding dress. Surprisingly, the unnamed man actually offered to help Ms. McKee destroy the dress when she told him what she intended.

However, after hearing the halfhearted offer, Ms. McKee decided to refuse and complete the photoshoot by herself. “He was surprised that I was going to do it because I’m not really like that. He joked that he should be in it and I could punch him or something, but I wanted it to be just me.”

Since the cathartic incident, Ms. McKee has spent time practicing her flirting and dipping her toes back into the dating world. Luckily, Ms. McKee’s efforts have proven successful and she is currently enjoying a strong relationship with a new – and as of yet unnamed – partner.

According to the New York Post, the new man in Ms. McKee’s life is very fond of her bizarre photography series. “He really likes the pictures,” says Ms. McKee.